International Education Weekwas first held in 2000; today it's celebrated annually in more than 100 countries worldwide. IEW is a joint initiative of the US Departments of Stateand Education, and is part of the federal government’s efforts to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn and exchange experiences in the United States.

Science and technology have been and will continue to be engines of US economic growth and national security. Excellence in discovery and innovation in science and engineering and in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education will strengthen the US economy, increase the capacity of US research and sustain our nation’s leadership role in increasingly competitive international science.

The Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) is the Department of Energy (DOE) office that collects, preserves and disseminates DOE-sponsored R&D results that are outcomes of R&D projects or other funded activities at DOE labs and facilities nationwide and grantees at universities and other institutions. OSTI believes that accelerating the sharing of scientific knowledge accelerates the advancement of science. OSTI ensures global access to DOE research results and brings the world’s research to DOE.

OSTI’s databases are made available to the public free of charge via single-point-of-access web portals such as ScienceAccelerator.gov (R&D from DOE resources), Science.gov (U.S. science information from 14 federal agencies), and WorldWideScience.org (global science information from over 70 countries in ten languages and counting). Through these efforts, OSTI is nationally and internationally recognized for its contributions to the sharing and exchange of science information, the results of billions of dollars worth of government-sponsored scientific research.

IEW is an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide. OSTI congratulates participants worldwide, and is proud to provide scientific and technical information – textual, graphical, numeric, multimedia, and digital – to the world.

About the Author

Kate Bannan is a Communications and Outreach Specialist for the Department of Energy’s Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) She develops and implements strategic communications and outreach programs to build awareness of OSTI, its programs and initiatives.